LOCAL : Panorama City Man Shot From Car

An apparently gang-related drive-by shooting left an 18-year-old Panorama City man in critical condition, Los Angeles police said this morning.

Mario Garcia, 18, was shot about 11:45 p.m. Monday in the back and right arm while standing on a curb near his residence in the 14600 block of Blythe Street, Detective Ernie Guzman said. No one else was injured.

Police said four men in a car apparently drove past Garcia, then turned around at a roadblock installed by the city across Blythe at Willis Avenue to discourage drug and gang activities. Police said that as the car passed Garcia, a gang slogan was yelled from the car and Garcia was shot.

Garcia was taken to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills where he was in critical condition this morning.

Police said that the assailants are believed to be from a gang based outside the Blythe Street neighborhood and that it is unclear whether Garcia was a rival gang member.